


Back to that Rainy Day

by nielmato



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: College, Drama, Fluff and Angst, Gen, General, Triggers, rainy day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 19:26:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15780537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nielmato/pseuds/nielmato
Summary: Forgetting to bring your umbrella on a rainy day is one thing, but it's another thing when you're carrying your thesis papers with you.Final year marketing student, Ong Seongwu was desperately trying to get to keep his papers safe while making his way to his campus.But a handsome stranger named Hwang Minhyun suddenly appeared with his umbrella and offered to help, almost like a knight in shining armour.However, little does Seongwu know that this stranger carries a secret...





	Back to that Rainy Day

_Drip, drop._

  
  
It’s the soft, unassuming sound that two water droplets make as they hit the ground.

  
  
Yet they hold enough power to signal imminent trouble, especially when they fall directly from skies turning grey above.

  
  
"Oh, shoot..." Amongst the thousands of people walking across the busy Hongdae area, there was one young man who realised what was upon to fall upon him – both figuratively and literally. The tall, fair-skinned man was carrying a thick binder in his arms, which basically had all of his university thesis papers in it. It was the ultimate physical embodiment of the hundreds of hours he had poured for research and editing each word into perfection; his ‘beloved child’ – or so he would boast to his peers during the last couple of weeks or so.

 

Yet, all of that was about to be ruined only because he forgot to bring his umbrella before leaving his apartment earlier. He knew what the weather forecast was for today, having already prepared his cream-coloured umbrella the night before. But then he overslept by fifteen minutes this morning, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to submit the physical copy of his thesis on time if he didn’t rush out the door immediately.

 

_Drip, drop._

Indeed, fifteen minutes doesn’t seem like a big deal when there’s nothing much going on. It’s only three-quarters of an anime episode, and probably the average time people take for a quick shower. However, those nine-hundred seconds makes a whole lot of difference when one is pressed for time – and in the case of final year business university student Ong Seongwu, it was the deciding factor whether he would prepare an umbrella to shield his thesis papers from what the weather lady had described as ‘possibly one of the wettest autumn days in Seoul’.

 

_Flap, snap._

The sound of umbrellas opening in an irregular rhythm somehow matched the blaring backdrop of cheerful Korean pop music played across retail shops in the area, creating an unusually fitting combination altogether. Well, not that anyone in this bustling area had the luxury of paying attention; Seongwu included, of course.

 

“Oh crap, what the heck! Why do I have to forget my umbrella today, out of all days?!” The twenty-three-year-old grunted to himself as he ran to the nearest store for shelter. Out of all places, it was a make-up store that was decorated with pastel pink from front to back. It seemed unfitting for a young man like Seongwu to be standing alone in front of a store like that, but he couldn’t care less. All he could think about right now is protecting his thesis papers from a single drop of rainwater, even though he was definitely at risk of being even later than before.

 

Being faced with one unfavourable situation over the next, the college student scratched his temples furiously in hopes of finding a way out.

 

“Maybe I should cover this with my jacket and go for it,” He started mumbling to himself, “No, no. That’s not possible. My jacket’s not big enough to cover this. Hmm… What if I ask Jaehwannie or Niel to pick me up here? Oh wait, they’re both out of town at the moment. Crap.”

 

Faced with no other options, he started to wrap his thick bundle of papers with his favourite navy-blue bomber jacket and took a deep breath to prepare himself. He then walked right into the drizzling rain, trying to ignore the raindrops that had started pounding against his back.

His t-shirt was soaking wet in a matter of minutes and Seongwu felt cold shivers across the upper half of his body almost instantly. The chilly autumn winds weren’t helping too – it only helped the young man in convincing himself that the universe was trying to punish him or some sorts.

 

“Hold it together, Ong, hold it together!” He muttered to himself, attempting to motivate himself.

_Splish, splash, splosh._

It was the loud sound that Seongwu’s worn-out Timberlands made as he was walking fast as he could against the crowd, trying to get to the opposite direction from where everyone seemed to be heading.

 

_Splish, splash, thud!_

“Oi, watch where you’re going!” Seongwu had accidentally bumped against an elderly man and quickly apologised before things got out of hand.

 

_Splish, splash;_

_Flap, snap._

 

All of a sudden, the rain had seemed to stop not long after he parted ways with that elderly man. Seongwu no longer felt the cold raindrops anymore and reflexively sighed out in relief.

 

However, he noticed that everyone else was still sheltered under their umbrellas – and for some reason, so was he.

 

“Hello there.” A calm yet masculine voice greeted Seongwu, making the college student jolt in shock.

 

“Wha—H-hello?” Seongwu instinctively stepped aside to look at the man that somehow appeared right next to him with an umbrella, shielding him from the pouring rain.

 

From a quick glance, one word popped up in his mind to describe this youthful-looking stranger: ‘handsome’.

 

The man had a distinctive pair of sharp, fox-like eyes, prominent jawline, and an extremely clear skin. Not only that, he was also tall and well-built, which the man’s baggy khaki trench coat couldn’t even conceal. Honestly, Seongwu had never seen someone with such good looks in real life before, let alone being able to be this close to one.

 

“Um… Do I perhaps know you from somewhere?” Seongwu tried asking the man, feeling slightly nervous. Was it because he was a complete stranger somehow shielding him from the rain out of the nowhere, or was it just his mesmerizing looks? He couldn’t really figure out, honestly.

 

“Nope, you don’t.” The stranger smiled, and somehow, it felt strangely calming and reassuring. “I just simply wanted to help you out, because you look like you’re desperately trying to protect something from the rain. So, what’s that under your jacket?”

 

“Ah... Thank you for your kindness. It’s actually my thesis papers, and I need to submit them today. And um, I’m sorry but I’m actually kind of running late, so…”

 

“Oh, is that so? I’ll walk with you to the nearest bus stop then. Do you go to Hongik, by any chance?” The man gesturing Seongwu to walk together with him while talking.

 

Not wanting to leave the ‘luxurious’ protection of the umbrella, the college student immediately followed the man and replied, “Yes, I do go there. My stop’s just two blocks down, just on the intersection of the street ahead.”

 

“Ah, is it near the _tteobokki_ stall that’s run by that _ahjumma_ and her twin sister? The one with really good spicy _kimchi_ _mandu_ soup with a lot of leeks in it?”

 

“Yeah, that one! How do you know about that? It’s an off-the-menu thing that only Hongik students know about!” Seongwu gasped in awe, especially at the possibility that this handsome man could be someone from his campus. _What are the odds?_  

 

The man then chuckled before responding, “Of course, I used to study there. It was a long time ago, but I still remember it as if it was yesterday.”

 

“A long time ago? Wow, you don’t look like it!” Seongwu exclaimed, only to realise his mistake after the man responded with a shocked expression. The college student then bowed down his head quickly and apologised, “O-oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that you look so young, I thought you were also a university student like me. Or a fresh graduate, max.” 

 

“Haha, is that so? I’m flattered by your words.”

 

“You’re welcome, um…”

 

“I’m Minhyun. Hwang Minhyun.”

 

“Minhyun it is! I’m Ong Seongwu, nice to meet you.” Seongwu greeted, feeling slightly more comfortable as the stranger now had a name to be identified with.

 

‘Minhyun’ then nodded and replied, “Nice to meet you, Seongwu-ssi. What major are you, if I may ask?”

 

“I majored in marketing. How about you?”

 

“Computer science.”

 

“Whoa, that sounds fancy. You must be really smart, Minhyun-ssi.” Seongwu commented, amazed at how the man was able to have both looks and brains at the same time.

 

“Haha, that's not true. I just got into a major my family wanted me to tak—”

_Flop, whoosh!_

 

“Whoops. Be careful.” Minhyun caught a young lady’s purse that had fallen from her bag. Her face flushed red in embarrassment as he returned the purse to her, and she immediately ran off without saying anything afterwards.

 

“Whoa, she could’ve said ‘thank you’ or something. That was kind of rude.” Seongwu remarked with a frown on his face.

 

Surprisingly, Minhyun only shrugged it off. “Life’s too short to fuss over these kinds of trivial things. That purse must’ve been precious to that lady, and the fact that it’s now safe with her is all that matters.”

 

“Wow, you sound super wise.” Seongwu led out a gasp. “Are you sure you’re not from another era or something? Like Gong Yoo?”

 

“Excuse me?” For some reason, Minhyun’s expression became stiff. It was impossible not to notice it, as it was drastically different from the warm and kind expressions he had shown earlier.

 

Seongwu was slightly flustered by that and quickly tried to lighten up the mood. "Um, I mean Gong Yoo’s character in _‘Goblin’_! You know, the drama that was popular only a few years ago?”

 

“Uh…?”

 

“You know, the one with that girl in the red scarf? She had this famous line that goes like _‘Ahjussi, I love you~’_ ” The college student made his voice cutesy and high-pitched for that last line, trying to mimic the image of the female actress he had in mind.

 

“Pfft—Buahaha!” The other party burst into laughter, which made his fox-like eyes disappear out of sight. “Seongwu, what the heck was that? That was such a bad impersonation of Ji Euntak!”

 

“Well, I tried my best, okay! And wait a minute…”

 

“Hm?”

 

“You do know about the drama! You were pretending, weren’t you?!” Seongwu raised his voice at Minhyun – which only made him laugh even louder.

 

“Ahahaha! Apologies, I thought it would be fun to tease you for a bit. You seemed like a pretty relaxed guy, that’s why.” Minhyun replied, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

 

Seongwu shook his head and pretended to look angry. “Geez, Minhyun-ssi, teasing a stranger you’ve just met like that. You’ve got an odd sense of humour, don’t you?”

 

“Well, I can’t say anything to that.” The young man with the umbrella chuckled. “But honestly though, I didn’t really follow that drama. I was busy preparing for my KSATs then.”

 

“Wait, I thought you said you finished university a long time ago already?” Seongwu questioned, feeling slightly confused.

 

“Oh, sorry, I must’ve gotten them mixed up. I meant for finals in university, not high school. Yes.” Minhyun stammered for a little bitught off-guard. “I used to study so much, I couldn’t even differentiate the time periods I was in. I was so stressed out, but I had to go through it no matter what. It was my family’s wish that I excel in my studies, after all.”

 

“...Yeah, I can relate to that. My parents really wanted me to enter one of the ‘SKY’ universities, so they forced me to study really hard in high school. I became burned out and flunked on my exams the first time, unfortunately.” Seongwu said and let out a sigh afterwards.

 

“I’m so sorry about that, Seongwu.”

 

“No problem, that has been a while ago. I don’t really dwell on it now, I guess.”

 

“I see…”

 

After that, the conversation ended on a sullen note as the pair approached Seongwu’s bus stop. Fortunately, it wasn’t raining as hard as before; even better, the sun had started to peek through the grey clouds above.

 

Seongwu then decided to smile at his ‘saviour’ of the day and express his gratitude, “Minhyun-ssi, thank you so much for accompanying me all the way here. You really saved my life, seriously.”

 

“No problem. I just thought it was the right thing to do…” Minhyun smiled back, but for some reason, his gaze was distracted somewhere else. He was peering over Seongwu’s shoulders, seemingly trying to look for something.

 

“Minhyun, is anything the matter?” Seongwu asked, trying to catch what this kind stranger was looking at. He knew that behind him was the _tteobokki_ stall they were talking about earlier, and that should be nothing out of the ordinary.

 

The _tteobokki_ stall was just a small, square-shaped wooden space covered with a huge, red parasol fabric that was supported on the four thin pillars hammered on each angle. There were plastic chairs placed encircling the area, neatly tucked under the makeshift tables that were basically long pieces of wood being glued around the main structure. 

 

The twin, elderly ladies would be then cooking their food inside that space, handing over plates of steaming hot _tteobokki_ with the freshly cut _sundae_ on the side when customers came over and sit down to eat. It can be crowded during the evenings and on the weekends, so it’s not seldom that customers had to eat their meals while standing up.

 

But now it’s just slightly past 10 a.m., so there wasn’t a lot of customers around. At first, Seongwu could only see a group of young ladies seated together, sharing two plates of _tteobokki_ between them.

 

_Babble, babble._

 

On the other hand, the corner of his eyes managed to catch something that’s quite out of the ordinary – and it seemed to be what Minhyun was looking at as well.

_Swoosh, swoosh._

 

Apparently, a boy was standing alone at the back of the stall, seemingly trying to find shelter from the rain. He had a spiky bowl cut and wore a jet-black school uniform, which Seongwu recognised from one of the middle schools near his university. The boy somehow kept looking at the ground and scratched the back of his neck from time to time, as if he was troubled with something.

 

“Huh, wonder why that boy’s out here during school hours?” Seongwu inquired as he was tapping his chin.

 

Minhyun shrugged and replied, “Well, who knows. Maybe he just scored badly on his calculus and Korean history exams, so he didn’t feel deserving to go back to school.”

 

“Whoa, that’s very specific. Do you even know the boy?”

 

“Uh, well…" The other man's words trailed off -- as if he was lost in his thoughts. "Let's just say I do, but I don't at the same."

 

“Hahaha, what is that supposed to mean? You’re a funny guy, Minhyun.”

 

_Drip, drop._

_Drip._

_Drop._

“Oh, looks like the rain’s stopping for a bit. Woohoo.” The college student sighed in relief, holding his binder even tighter in his arms. _Hopefully, it'll stay dry, so I don't have to run to the faculty office,_ Seongwu thought to himself.

 

“Ah, you’re right...” Minhyun responded, but his uneasy gaze was somehow back to the middle school boy from earlier again. 

 

Even though the rain had stopped, the boy didn’t move from his spot for quite some time, and it was obvious that it had made one of the stall owners irritated at his presence. She continuously sent unfriendly glares and hisses at him, and even though her twin tried to calm her down, it still looked like that first lady could seriously snap anytime.

 

“Oh no, what do I do? It’s over if I let that lady snap. Goodness me, should I just go for it?” A question unexpectedly escaped Minhyun’s lips, catching Seongwu almost completely off guard.

 

“…What?”

 

“I mean, I can, but… Every time I’ve reached this point, every single one of them has always rejected me. Will he be different though? He seems nice, but… Argh!” Minhyun suddenly bit his lips and scratched the back his neck furiously, shocking the other person even more.

 

Seongwu then carefully asked, “…Minhyun-ssi? What on earth are you talking about?”

 

“…Huh! Did you hear all of that?!” Minhyun gasped, as he appeared to be as shocked as Seongwu himself.

 

“Uh-uh, you sound like you’re really panicked, Minhyun. What was that all that about, with you being rejected and stuff?”

 

The man in question quickly then shifted his gaze to the ground, and again, started to scratch the back of his neck nervously.

 

_Scratch, scratch, scratch._

 

“Umph… I… I don’t think you’d be interested in knowing about that, honestly.” He answered hesitantly.

 

“I see. But are you sure you don’t want to talk about it though? I mean, maybe a stranger like me can give you a different perspective to whatever your problem is.” Seongwu shrugged. “Maybe I can return the favour for your help earlier too if you want to.”

 

“Returning the favour, huh…”

 

“Or perhaps, do you have anything else I can help you with? Might as well, since I still have eleven minutes left until my bus comes, hehe.”

 

“…Actually... Um. Well, might as well go for it then. Seongwu-ssi, do you mind helping me with something?” Minhyun asked, now with a calm yet serious expression on his face.

 

“Yeah, sure. If it’s not anything life threatening, I can do it.”

 

“Okay then, hold on a sec…”

 

_Rustle, rustle._

“…Wait… Are you giving me money?” The ordinary college student was taken aback when the handsome stranger took out the largest Korean won bill of 50,000 won (around U$45) and handed it to him just like that.

 

“Well, it’s not for you, but…” Minhyun replied, gesturing Seongwu to take a look at the middle school boy again. “…can you help me buy a bowl of _kimchi mandu_ soup and a portion of _tteobokki_ with extra _sundae_ for that boy? He actually looks kind of hungry, so that’s why I was kind of worried earlier…”

 

“Ooh, that’s it? Sure.” Seongwu agreed and gave Minhyun a quick thumbs up.

 

“Thank you so much, that would really mean a lot to me, Seongwu-ssi. Thank you so much.”

 

“I mean, it’s just talking to a middle schooler. It’s not a big deal.” Seongwu shrugged, this time with confidence. “But… Are you sure you don’t want to go talk to the boy yourself? It’s your own money, after all.”

 

“Well, truth to be told… I’m kind of shy with teenagers. I’m not used to them, haha…” Minhyun answered in embarrassment, his ears turning slightly pink.

 

“O…kay then. If you say so.” Seongwu was about to walk towards the stall, but—

 

“—Wait!” Minhyun suddenly pulled Seongwu’s arms, jerking him backwards.

 

_Rustle, thud!_

 

“??”

 

The young man paused for a moment, before he made another request, “Uhh… I actually have one more thing I want you to tell the boy, but please don’t reveal my identity to him. Is that alright?"

 

“Well, sure. I can do that.” Seongwu agreed almost immediately.

 

“Phew, that’s such a relief, considering not many people have reached this point.” Minhyun smiled to himself, confusing the other person even more. The man in khaki trench coat had immediately picked that up and decided to quickly continue on, “Um, anyway, please tell this to him…”

 

***

 

“Hey boy, you’re from Hongnam Middle, right? Aren’t you supposed to be at school now?”

 

Of course, that was Ong Seongwu, who had approached the sullen-looking student without hesitation. He had also requested Minhyun earlier to reserve his spot at the bus stop, just in case if he needed to queue when more people showed up. Seongwu had missed a couple of buses because he stood at the back of the line, costing him a few red marks on his attendance.

 

“…Um… Do I know you, _ahjussi?_ ” The boy asked with a familiarly soft voice, which Seongwu felt he had heard somewhere before.

But putting that aside, there was something more important to address—

 

“Boy, did you just call me _‘ahjussi’_? Do I even look that old??” Seongwu frowned and crossed his arms.

 

The boy looked at Seongwu quietly for a moment; his sharp, fox-like eyes appearing looking as confused as ever. However, he decided to shake his head as a response and apologised, “No, I’m sorry… It’s just my habit. I’m used to calling men who look older than me _‘ahjussi’_. So sorry about that…”

 

“Haha, calm down, boy. I was just pulling your leg.” Seongwu patted the student’s slumped shoulders. “Anyway, aren't you hungry? I think you must be because you're standing so close to a _tteobokki_ stall.”

 

“No, _ah—_ uhh, _samchon_. No, I’m not hu—”

 

_Grrr. Grrrth!_

“…No!”

 

“…Well, that says it all. Come on, let’s just sit down. _Samchon_ will buy you something. You like _tteobokki_ , right?” Seongwu gestured the boy to grab a seat, pulling two plastic chairs that were under the makeshift wooden tables.

 

“I-I’m fine, _samchon…_ ” The boy hesitated, keeping a safe distance as he awkwardly stood behind Seongwu.

 

“Oh, Ong! You’re here early!” One of the elderly twin ladies greeted him, sounding chipper and energetic. “Don’t you usually have classes at this hour, handsome?”   

 

“Good morning, _ahjumma!_ I don’t, but I need to go to school to submit my thesis papers before 11 a.m. It’s already my last semester, after all.”

 

“Wow, final semester already? So fast!” The other twin exclaimed. “I still remember you when you first came here, with your bowl cut and all. Now you look so handsome, Seongwu-ya! If only I had a daughter, I would like to introduce her to you!”

 

“Aww, I’m flattered to hear that. Thank you, _ahjumma_.”

 

_Clack, thud!_

 

“Aaand here you go, your usual order!” The first elderly lady swiftly placed a huge bowl of freshly cooked spicy _kimchi mandu_ soup and a hefty portion of their signature _tteokbokki_ with homemade _sundae_ right in front of Seongwu. The distinctive smell of the chilli peppers and leek wafted across the air, and of course, it instantly tickled the boy’s olfactory senses.

 

_GRRR. GRRRTH!_

 

“…!!”

 

“Alright boy, just letting you know that the offer still stands. Here, come and have a seat if you want.” Seongwu patted the chair beside him before he popped a whole piece of steaming rice cake in his mouth. "Fwahh, it’s so delicious! You should really try this.”

 

“…Okay, fine. I’ll eat with you, _samchon._ ” The boy reluctantly sat next to Seongwu and dropped his backpack on the ground, letting out a long sigh afterwards. He then picked up a floppy rice cake with the toothpick provided, as he popped it into his tiny mouth—

 

“—Oh my, this is really good! I actually haven’t eaten breakfast, so can I have more? Please _, samchon_?” A bright smile suddenly lit up on the middle schooler’s once sullen face, his eyes somehow disappearing behind his puffy cheeks.

 

“Go ahead, eat as much as you want. Have this _mandu_ soup too, it’s really good when it’s still hot.” Seongwu slowly pushed the huge bowl towards the boy, careful not to spill any soup on the table.

 

“Thwank yew sho mwoch, shmchwen!” He thanked Seongwu, his mouth still jam-packed a mouthful of rice cakes and _sundae_ in it. It was a bit off-putting, but the young man decided to let it go for now.

 

“Alright, alright, no sweat. Swallow your food first before talking, boy.” The college student softly patted the middle schooler on the back.

 

Then, he was reminded of Hwang Minhyun’s words earlier and decided that this would probably be a good time to relay it to the boy.

 

“Hey boy, I actually have something to say to you. Just listen to me while you eat, okay?”

 

_Slurp, slurp._

“Ohkay, whwat ees iwt, shmchwen?” The boy now had a mouthful of _mandu_ in his mouth, but Seongwu tried to ignore that and concentrate what came to do here.

 

_‘Seongwu-ssi, I want to tell him that he’s doing a good job. That he’ll be alright…’_

“…even if you failed your calculus and Korean history exams yesterday, or even didn’t made the cut to the school’s science team last week…”

 

_‘…he’s not worth any less than anyone else around him. Don’t let anyone else tell him otherwise…’_

“…even if it’s from your own parents, boy.”

 

_Drip, drop._

“Those scores shouldn’t determine how you’ll view your life, really. You do have a brighter future ahead of you outside of those textbooks.”

 

_Drip, drip, drop._

“Also, one more thing _samchon_ wants to add…”

_‘…please don’t go back home right now…’_

“…because I know you’re thinking of taking those pills in the bathroom cabinet.”

 

_Drip._

_‘I beg of you, please don’t do it. It’s not worth the…’_

In the middle of his sentence, Seongwu noticed something crucial embedded on the left-hand side of the boy’s blazer—

 

“…the pain you’ll experience in the future…Hwang, Minhyun.”

 

_Drip, drop._

_Drip, drop._

“Seongwu-ya, your bus left already! Aren’t you going to be late?” One of the elderly ladies shouted, snapping Seongwu back to reality.

 

“Oh, shoot…” Seongwu muttered to himself, but it was impossible for him to leave his spot right now.

 

Not when he just somehow made a middle school boy bawl in public with words he happened to borrow from a stranger – who had the exact same name as the kid. _This is too weird to be a coincidence_ , he thought to himself.

 

To the very least, Seongwu thought he could at least go back to the bus stop and ask Minhyun about it.

 

_Why did the two have the same name? How did the man know a lot of stuff about the boy? Heck, now that I think about it, those fox-like eyes—_

“—Seongwu-ssi?” One of the female patrons called his name, before handing him what seemed to be an envelope. “A guy from the bus stop wanted me to hand this to you.”

 

“Is he the tall guy wearing the khaki trench coat? With eyes like _this_?” Seongwu tried to pull his eyes to imitate the image he had of Minhyun’s eyes.

 

The female nodded. “Yeah, that’s him. But he left immediately after leaving me this, so if you’ll excuse me.”

 

“Okay, thank you then.” Seongwu slightly bowed his head, before she went away to leave with the other female patrons.

 

The college student then slowly went back to his seat, and to no surprise, the middle school boy was still in the same spot, crying his eyeballs out. He mumbled a few sentences here and there, but Seongwu couldn’t really understand what he was saying. In the end, he could do nothing but give him pats on the shoulder and some words of encouragement,

 

“There, there. It must’ve been tough for you, huh… You did well, _Minhyun_ -ah. You did well.”

 

_Drip, drop._

_Drip, drop._

_Drip, drop._

Seongwu then decided to tear open the envelope, revealing a neat, handwritten letter on the inside.

 

Surprisingly, the head of the letter didn’t have the name of the intended recipient on it. Piqued by this fact, the young man then decided to continue reading the remaining content.

 

***

 

_Dear _____________

_I don’t know how many times I’ve tried to hand this letter to different people and failed, so that’s why I left the name blank on purpose. Perhaps it’s also one way of me still holding on to the hope that someone in this cold and indifferent city will help a stranger out, I suppose._

_But if you’re already reading this, I want to give my utmost gratitude to you. You have saved my life, both literally and figuratively. I’ll explain to you in detail about that, but just a warning: it will not make any sense. I still hope you’ll still continue reading though ^^’_

_Anyway, as I’ve introduced to you earlier (I hope), my name is Hwang Minhyun. I come from the future; to be exact, seven years in the future. I came back in time for a mission – to save my younger self. And yes, that skinny boy with bowl cut is actually me. I look so different, don’t I? Haha!_

_Honestly, during this time, I was really stressed out with studying. My parents had been blaming me for my lack of diligence in school. They’ve been constantly comparing me to my older sister, who got a scholarship to one of Seoul’s most prestigious high school._

_I've been trying really hard to be a good son to my family, but really, it wasn't enough._

_Also, you probably noticed from the words I’ve asked you to relay to that boy (or should I say, to me?), I did overdose on some pills at home (cough medicine, to be exact) after running away from school earlier this morning. I thought it’s better if my parents only had one daughter, rather than an extra son who is an embarrassment to the family._

_Fortunately (or unfortunately) though, I didn’t die. My mom was home, and she rushed me to the hospital. I ended up having a liver failure, which affected my condition from then on. I ended up being even more of a burden on my family, who had to pay for my medical treatment for more than six long years._

_However, when I just turned twenty-one, my condition got critical and I got into a comatose. I thought I was dead, but… Okay, this might sound even weirder than before, but please believe me._

_I was given a second chance to live by whoever deity is up above, and they told me that if I could stop my younger self from swallowing the pills, I would be allowed to live with a healthy body again._

“…Whoa, this is straight up like some sci-fi drama on TV, damn.” Seongwu mumbled to himself before he continued on reading.

 

_Nevertheless, there was a condition. They said that I wasn’t allowed to meet with my ‘past self' face to face, because I'd disappear immediately if I interrupted with the flow of time myself. I wasn't allowed to meet people that know me back during this time too, for the same exact reason._

_That's why I've been trying to get strangers to help me out, but it's been quite challenging to find people who're willing to do it in a big city like Seoul. When you’re reading this letter, I’ve tried § times to do so, and that should be the number of times I’ve failed as well._

“Man, he must’ve erased the number so many times. I wonder how many times he actually tried it out?” Seongwoo wondered on his own.

 

_But again, since you’re reading this, I think I have succeeded now. Or at least I have succeeded in stalling the imminent danger on my past self. I’m not sure, honestly. Maybe I can actually get healthier; maybe I’ll still turn to dust, following the initial course of my life._

_Dear stranger, I do hope we can meet each other in the future. Then I can thank you in person, and maybe buy you something nice to eat. I'm not that good at cooking, so that's why ^^;; (if you don’t mind instant ramyeon with eggs and cheese, that’ll be good as well!)_

_I pray for the best in your future endeavours, kind person._

_Best wishes,_

_Hwang Minhyun_

***

“…Whoa, that was intense.”

 

_Drip._

_Drop._

“Sniff, sniff. What is, _samchon?_ ” The boy—no, Minhyun—had begun to calm down. He even started wolf down the remaining food again as well, not leaving a single trace of sauce in sight.

 

It was no longer raining both outside and inside, but something in Seongwu felt that he shouldn’t leave just yet. The next bus was in another ten minutes, so now it’s guaranteed that he was going to be late.

 

He then glanced over to ‘Minhyun’, now with chilli pepper sauce smeared across his lips.

 

“ _Samchon_?”

 

_Drip, drop._

Something crossed by Ong Seongwu’s mind, and he let out a chuckle at the thought of it.  

 

“Heh, maybe the rain’s not that bad, after all.”

 

**\- END-**

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Ong!! Ddeong!! Wu!! The cutest seal in the whole wide world <3
> 
> Also, I haven't written in a while, so writing this much in such a short period of time is quite surprising to me. Irl has been quite tough to me OTL been struggling with so many things lately...
> 
> but anyway I hope you enjoyed the story, and have a nice day! Don't forget to bring your umbrella on a rainy day... maybe? 8D;;


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